Pope:
“Int’l community must take concrete steps for peace
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has called on the international
community to take concrete steps to bring about peace and to protect all those
who are victims of war and persecution.
In a wide-ranging discourse to members of the diplomatic corps
accredited to the Holy See, the Pope focused on a series of urgent issues which
– he said - derive from a culture of rejection “which severs the deepest and
most authentic human bonds, leading to a breakdown of society and spawning
violence and death”.
Speaking in Italian to the representatives of the 180 States
which have diplomatic relations with the Holy See, the Pope said we see
painful evidence of the consequences of this culture of rejection “in the
events reported daily in the news, not least the tragic slayings which took
place in Paris a few days ago”.
And moving across the globe, again and again the Pope mentioned
the “tragic mentality of rejection” and “culture of enslavement” which are
manifested in a “never ending spread of conflicts”. In this regard he spoke of
Ukraine, of the Middle East - in particular of the Holy Land - and of the
spread of fundamentalist terrorism in Syria and in Iraq, where – he said –
“this phenomenon is a consequence of the throwaway culture being applied to
God”.
In the annual speech that has come to be known as his
"State of the World" address, Francis expressed his hope that
religious, political and intellectual leaders, especially those of the Muslim
community, will condemn all fundamentalist and extremist interpretations of
religion that attempt to justify such acts of violence.
Religious fundamentalism – the Pope explained – “even before it
eliminates human beings by perpetrating horrendous killings, eliminates God
himself, turning him into a mere ideological pretext”.
And violence and fundamentalism in Nigeria were next on Pope
Francis’ list with a focus on the tragic phenomenon of kidnappings and human
trafficking.
He then expressed concern for Libya, the Central African
Republic, South Sudan, the Horn of Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo
where “acts of brutality reap victims from among the poor and the most
vulnerable”.
“Every conflict and war” – he said ““is emblematic of the
throwaway culture since people’s lives are deliberately crushed by those in
power”.
Pope Francis’ long discourse did not neglect to mention the
effects of this culture of rejection on the victims of Ebola in Liberia, Sierra
Leone and Guinea, or on the horrendous crime of rape “which offends the dignity
of women” across the world, or on the lives of numerous refugees and displaced
persons that risk being thrown away, including those of unaccompanied children.
And in a series of calls to legislators and rulers to take
responsibility and to make every effort to resolve these grave humanitarian
problems protecting the rights of citizens and promoting a change of attitude,
the Pope did not neglect to mention the many other “hidden exiles” living – he
said – in our homes and in our families: the elderly, the handicapped and young
people who are “thrown away when they are denied concrete prospects of
employment to build their future”.
Holding up the recent agreement by the United States and Cuba to
re-establish ties after more than half a century, Pope Francis concluded his
discourse recalling the words of Pope Paul VI during
his visit to the United Nations fifty years ago in which he pointed out that
from the ashes of the immense tragedy of the Second World War, “there arose a
new will for dialogue and encounter which inspired the UN” and sanctioned an
agreement and an "oath to change the future of the world: never again war,
never again war!”
“This is likewise my own hope filled prayer for this new year”
Pope Francis said – which will also see “the continuation of two significant
processes: the drawing up of the Post-2015 Development Agenda” and “the
drafting of a new Climate Change Agreement”.
(Linda Bordoni)
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